I think one of the frustrating aspects of prayer is that we often don’t seem to get an answer, or at least hear an answer. We are praying for something important, but God doesn’t seem to be listening, or is indifferent. Could this be true? Of course not. Jesus himself says, ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you’ (Matt 7:7). ‘Ask and it will be given to you.’ They are Jesus’ own words. That means that God always answers our prayers, but maybe not in the way we want, or in a way we recognize.
In this Gospel, Jesus does something which is uncharacteristic of him. At first he seems to ignore this woman who is looking for his help, because she is a pagan, not one of the Jewish people. He does answer her, but not with words. It says, ‘He answered her, not a word’. He did answer, but he didn’t use words. His appearing to ignore her, drew out her faith. It made her persist and even be daring and he acknowledges her faith.
A man called Marino Restrepo, from Columbia, grew up in a wealthy Catholic family, but in his teens drifted away from his faith until he no longer practiced at all. He was a talented musician and artist and became very successful in Hollywood as a producer and director. He lived a very sinful life, with non-stop affairs and drugs, seducing others and being seduced and also introducing other people to drugs. He also got heavily involved in New Age practices, leading him farther and farther away from God.
On Christmas of 1997 he went back to Columbia to visit his family. His four sisters, who were still practicing Catholics, got him to go to church for Christmas, even though he no longer believed. It had been 33 years since he had been in a Catholic church. One of the devotions there, was a novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague. It began on December 16th and concluded on Christmas Eve. He heard the priest say that anyone who prayed this novena with devotion, would receive a grace. This caught his attention, but not in a religious way; in a greedy and superstitious way. He figured that he might be able to get something out of this prayer. So he prayed to the Infant Jesus of Prague, that Jesus would change his life: that he would be able to retire with a lot of money and live like a king with at least three women on an Indonesian island he had seen in pictures. That is exactly what he asked for. (Below: FARC Rebels in Columbia)
The day after the novena ended, which was Christmas day, he celebrated with friends and family. That night he went to visit an uncle on his plantation. When he arrived at the gates, he was stopped by six masked men, who dragged him out of his car and took him away. He had been captured by FARC rebels, who hoped to get a large ransom from his family. He spent the next six months tied up in a cave in the jungle. He very undernourished and nearly died.
One night, during this nightmarish ordeal, he had a very powerful spiritual experience. He had an illumination of conscience (see the book The Warning, by Christine Watkins, for the full story, pp 183-212). The Lord showed him his soul and his whole life up to that point. It lasted about eight hours. He says it was a very frightening experience, because he had been living such a sinful and worldly life for so long. The Lord allowed him to see that if he had died at that point, he would have gone to hell, because this was what he had already chosen by the way he was living.
Six months after he was kidnapped, he was unexpectedly released. Physically and emotionally he was in terrible shape, but he survived and gradually recovered his health. From then on he completely changed his life. He sold his apartment in Manhattan, quit his job in production and began to live a much simpler and more prayerful life. He has dedicated the rest of his life to sharing his story and has travelled all over the world.
Why am I telling you his story? Apart from the fact that it is an amazing story, he prayed that God would change his life and allow him to retire with great wealth, etc. God did answer his prayer and changed his life, but not in the way he could ever have imagined. (Below: Marino Restrepo).
The answers we get when we pray for things, may not be what we wanted and sometimes we may not even recognize the answer until years later, but the Lord tells us that He does answer us. Often God’s silence, which can be so frustrating, can be the very thing that helps us to grow in prayer. If we got everything we asked for instantly, would we grow spiritually? Probably not. But when we have to strive and persevere for it, we grow.
You don’t give your children everything they ask for, instantly, because you know that it can often do them more harm than good. You can see a bigger picture when you are older. God sees the whole picture and knows what will help us and what will not. The answers we get may be silence, but God does answer us. St. Monica, prayed for 33 years for the conversion of her son Augustine. He eventually became a Catholic, then a priest, then a bishop and today he is recognized as one of the great saints of our Church. St. Monica had great faith and never gave up. If the Lord had answered her instantly the first time she prayed, would her faith have grown as much? Probably not.
A Canaanite woman of that district came out and called, ‘
Have pity on me Lord, Son of David. My daughter is tormented by a demon.’
But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.
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